This 7-day, 30-mile backpacking adventure will include 5-full days of backpacking along massive glaciers, past wild creeks, and through virgin wilderness in this most amazing and virtually unexplored area of Denali National Park.  Not only will this experience include float plane access and a flight-seeing tour of Mt. McKinley and the mighty Ruth Glacier Gorge,  it will also provide backpackers the opportunity to see Denali National Park in a way that few ever have.  Join us in 2012 for the Denali backpacking experience of a lifetime!  Join us for Denali Unexplored.  Click Here for more great photos from this trip

This trip originates in Anchorage, Alaska. Getting to Anchorage is a snap. Alaska Airlines, your travel agent, or the carrier of your choice can easily arrange roundtrip airfare from the lower 48.  Once you land in Anchorage, your adventure really begins. For this trip into Denali National Park, you'll find that the areas we visit won't be found on any road map; out here there aren't many roads!

Bush Flights: All bush flights, both into and out of Denali National Park, are included in the cost of your adventure and your flight will certainly be one of the highlights of your Alaska hiking tour. For most of you, this will likely be your first trip in a bush plane, and a memorable one to be sure!  This 1 hour scenic flight will take us over alpine tundra, braided rivers, and cascading waterfalls; past Mt. Mckinley, the highest peak in North America; and finally down through the mighty Great Gorge of the Ruth Glacier, the deepest trench on earth!  Our skilled bush pilot will then take us down to a small lake nestled in a cleft between the Ruth and Tokositna Glaciers, where we will unload our gear on a small beach and then wave the airplane goodbye.

Accommodations: Lodging on night one is included in your package.  We use a couple of the best properties in Anchorage, and they are comfortable and conveniently located downtown.  Prices are double occupancy.  If you prefer your own room on night one you will be asked to pay a single supplement of $105.00.  The remaining nights will be spent camping in the wilderness!

The Experience: After checking into our accommodations in Anchorage, you’ll meet our guides by early evening before an orientation dinner one of our favorite restaurants in Anchorage.  After dinner, we’ll pour over maps and discuss the route.

Up early on day 2, we'll have breakfast before loading up and heading to our air taxi.  We'll begin our adventure with a flight into the wilderness by floatplane. Our first day will allow us to collect our senses, gaze at the surrounding beauty, and get a feel for the terrain we will be covering.  You will quickly become acquainted with our style of wilderness travel and camp etiquette.  Meals are planned to be sumptuous, filling culinary adventures of their own.  Because weight and packaging is critical, careful consideration is taken in planning and packing the ingredients.  You can be assured every meal will be something you may never have experienced in the wilderness. We use organic and real food products when possible and the very best freeze-dried and dehydrated ingredients available.

What’s Included:

• All group gear (tents, stoves, fuel, cooking & eating utensils, etc.) and safety equipment.
• Trekking poles.
• Lodging on night one at a local B&B or hotel in Anchorage
• Ground Transportation to Lake Hood on Day 1.
• Roundtrip scenic bush flights from Anchorage to Denali National Park
• Professional guide service at a maximum 4:1 client to guide ratio.
• All meals from dinner on day one through lunch on the final day of the itinerary.
• Storage for your extra travel items while in the field.

What’s Not:

• Lodging in Anchorage prior to and after your adventure.
• Personal gear (sleeping bags, packs, rain gear, etc.).
• Trip cancellation insurance.
• Additional room nights in Anchorage due to weather delays.
• Alcoholic beverages.
• Guide gratuities.

Reservation Policy:

A deposit of $1000.00 per person is required to reserve a trip with Alaska Alpine Adventures. The remaining balance is due 60 days prior to the start of the trip. Reservations made within 60 days of the trip starting date require payment in full.

If the participant cancels a reservation earlier than 60 days prior to the starting date, the deposit will be refunded, minus a $500.00 administration fee. If the participant cancels within 59-31 days of the starting date, 50% of the trip balance will be refunded. If cancellation is made within 30-0 days of the trip starting date, there will be no refund of any costs. Alaska Alpine Adventures recommends cancellation insurance available through Travel Guard. Please call or email us for details.

Everyone asks:

What about the mosquitoes?
In case you've heard horror stories... the number of mosquitoes is greatly dependent on hatching season and annual weather conditions. While we are bound to encounter some mosquitoes during the course of our adventure, their numbers have not generally presented major problems on past trips in these specific areas. That said, please arrive prepared with insect repellent and a head net to fend off any mosquitoes that are present.

Will bears be a problem?
Alaska is bear country! There are both grizzly and black bears in most of the wilderness areas of Alaska we visit. We love seeing bears in the wild and it really is one of the most thrilling experiences common in Alaska backcountry travel. With that said, traveling safely and taking precautions to minimize a negative encounter are things we take very seriously. In addition to being subject to our thorough bear safety orientation, you’ll also see that we take many precautions when traveling in Alaska’s wilderness – 1 all of our food has been packaged to minimize odors – we vacuum seal most of our fresh ingredients and sauces, we pack our food in bear resistant food canisters, and we store our food well away from camp. 2 We make noise when we’re hiking in thick brush or when we’re hiking in windy conditions to minimize surprise encounters 3 we keep an exceptionally clean camp and 4 as a last resort we travel armed. Our guides carry 44 mags or shotguns. Most of Alaska’s national parks, excluding Katmai and Denali, allow for the use of firearms and our guides are thoroughly trained in firearm use. Again, using a gun is a last resort and thankfully we’ve never had to call one into service on a trip!

What kind of food might we expect?
Our food is excellent – in fact it is something that clearly differentiates us from our competitors. We have spent the past decade fine tuning our backcountry menu. Breakfasts include pancakes, scrambles, various homemade granolas and cereals, French pressed coffee, assorted teas and hot drinks. For lunch we enjoy foccacia sandwiches, bagels and Alaska lox, hummus and toasted pita chips, and assorted wraps. We also have homemade snack mixes both salty and sweet and energy and candy bars available throughout the day. Dinners could include lasagna, pad thai, beef mole’ tacos, penne pasta with a     roasted red pepper pesto, wild mushroom risotto, etc. And we ALWAYS enjoy one of Derek’s home baked desserts after dinner.

When would you require a deposit? and how much?
We require a deposit of $1000 per person to officially reserve a trip. Really the deposit is due as soon as you’d like to book. That way, we have the trip inked in on the schedule and can begin the effort to coax others into joining the adventure. When you decide to book, we then generate an invoice that we send by email. You’ll then have the option to pay the deposit by mailing us a check, calling us with a credit card number or by using a Visa, Master Card, or American Experss on our secure online payment system.

Trip cancellation insurance? Can we get it through you?
As for trip cancellation insurance, Alaska Alpine Adventures is licensed to sell Travel Guard - an industry leading insurance product designed specifically for adventure travelers. Please contact us for details, or click here to obtain a quote.

Day 1:Your trip begins today in Anchorage, Alaska.  You can arrive at any time and transfer to our bed & breakfast independently.  We’ll be staying at the Susitna Place or the Copper Whale Inn, which are both located close to the airport and adjacent to downtown Anchorage.  Depending on your arrival time, the remainder of the day is at leisure to relax after your flight or to explore some of the city’s notable sites including the Anchorage Museum of History & Art or the city Park Strip.  This evening, you’ll meet your guide at 6pm and head to an orientation dinner at a local restaurant.  The orientation will include a discussion of the route, an introduction to our unique style of Alaska wilderness travel, a familiarization of the principles of Leave No Trace, and a conversation about traveling safely in bear country.  Dinner included.

Day 2: This morning after a healthy breakfast at our B&B, we’ll make our way over to Lake Hood Seaplane Base, the busiest float-plane airport on earth, where we’ll board a float-plane bound for the Denali National Park and our home for the next 5 nights.  This 1.5 hour scenic flight will take us over alpine tundra, braided rivers, and cascading waterfalls.  We'll enjoy spectacular views of Mt. McKinley, the highest peak in North America as we travel up the mighty Ruth Glacier, to the entrance of the Great Gorge - the deepest trench on earth!  Our skilled bush pilot will then take us down to a small lake nestled in a cleft between the Ruth and Tokositna Glaciers, where we will unload our gear on a small beach and then wave the airplane goodbye.  We’ll set up camp near the lake, bask in the new-found solitude, and then take a short afternoon hike.  All Meals Included.

Days 3-6: We’ll spend the next 4 days headed doing a 30+ mile circuit.  Our route will take us through gun sight passes, over open tundra benches, down spectacular creeks, and along big Alaska Range glaciers.  We’ll camp near small lakes, drink from alpine streams, and walk through country that has seen few human footsteps.  We’ll bask in the majesty of the Alaska Range and scan mountain sides for black & grizzly bears as we hike through north America’s crown jewel, completely immersed in the wild.  When the weather permits, views of north America’s highest mountain range will dominate our panorama and we’ll savor the incomprehensible vastness of Alaska. By the afternoon of day 6, we’ll arrive back at our final camp near the lake, and we’ll spend our last evening truly enjoying our final moments of solitude in Denali. All Meals Included.

Day 7: After a celebratory tundra blueberry pancake breakfast and coffee, our bush pilot will arrive at the lake by early afternoon to extract us from the wilderness.  Our flight path will take us down the massive Ruth Glacier,  over the Tokosha Mountains, along the mighty Susitna River, and back to Anchorage by 6pm.  If you’re returning home from Anchorage this evening, please schedule home-bound flights for after 10pm. Breakfast and Lunch Included.